MSMQ - Connecting Remote MSMQ

Connecting to remote MSMQ can be an easy task, yet, it can be a difficult one.

First, if you want to connect to a remote MSMQ, you have to define the queue name with FormatName

For machine name, use FormatName:Direct=OS:mymachine\private$\remoteQueue

For IP, use FormatName:Direct=TCP:10.10.10.1\private$\remoteQueue

The above is for Private Queue. If you want to connect to a Public queue, just remove private$ from the above string. Also, please note that you cannot use IP address on OS and vice versa.

Now, you are ready to program. All you need is 3 lines for send and 5 lines for receive

Note: the example is for private queue. For public queue, remove private$ from queuePath

C# code for Send

String queuePath = "FormatName:Direct=TCP:10.10.10.1\\private$\\remoteQueue";

MessageQueue mq = new MessageQueue(queuePath);

mq.Send(txtMsg.Text);

C# code for Receive

String queuePath = "FormatName:Direct=TCP:10.10.10.1\\private$\\remoteQueue";

MessageQueue mq = new MessageQueue(queuePath);

System.Messaging.Message msg = mq.Receive();
            
msg.Formatter = new XmlMessageFormatter(new string[] { "System.String" });
            
Console.Write("received message: " + msg.Body);

Note:

1. For receive, the above code perform receive synchronously. Thus, it will suspend the thread and only return when a queue message is received

2. Programming with MSMQ become tough and waste a lot of time if you did not read the API correctly. For example, MessageQueue.Exist(). This method only work for local queue. It will fail on all remote/Direct FormatName where machine in Workgroup mode. Please read http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.messaging.messagequeue_methods.aspx carefully.